Making the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Work for Seniors
A number of North Dakotans have expressed their frustration and confusion with the Medicare prescription drug benefit. While Senator Dorgan believes this benefit will help a number of seniors get needed drug coverage, he does have some significant concerns about the program.
The prescription drug coverage does nothing to address the rising cost of prescription drugs, and it actually prevents the government from negotiating with pharmaceutical manufacturers to offer seniors drugs at a lower cost. A recent study from the AARP found that the cost of the drugs most frequently used by seniors increased by 6.3 percent from June 2005 to June 2006 – nearly twice the rate of inflation.
Senator Dorgan introduced legislation with several colleagues to authorize the government to negotiate directly with the drug companies, and he has sponsored legislation to allow for the safe reimportation of prescription drugs to put downward pressure on healthcare costs.
Read Senator Dorgan’s Common Sense Reforms to Fix the Medicare Drug Benefit
